Blizzard officially announces Diablo III is in the works for Windows and
Macintosh, confirming rampant speculation that a new installment in the popular
action/RPG series is the WWI game announcement they've been hinting at all week.
A release date is not being specified at this point, but there are details on
what to expect from the game, including 3D graphics, destructible environments,
a new quest system, a random level generator, and more. The
Diablo III Website is live,
offering screenshots, artwork, a cinematic teaser and a gameplay video, and
here's the press release:

PARIS - (Business Wire) Blizzard
Entertainment, Inc. today revealed Diablo® III, the newest entry in its
critically acclaimed action role-playing-game franchise. The announcement was
made during the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment® Worldwide Invitational at the Porte
de Versailles Convention Centre in Paris, France. A cinematic trailer and an
extended gameplay demonstration with commentary from the development team
introduced the game to the thousands of players in attendance.

“We’ve wanted to expand on the epic story and gameplay elements of the Diablo
universe for some time now,” stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard
Entertainment. “We know that players have also been long awaiting a return to
the series, so we’re very excited to be sharing this announcement with Blizzard
gamers here in Paris and around the world today.”

Diablo III will pick up the story twenty years after the events of Diablo II.
Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal have been defeated, but the Worldstone, which once
shielded the inhabitants of the world of Sanctuary from the forces of both the
High Heavens and the Burning Hells, has been destroyed, and evil once again
stirs in Tristram. Playing as a hero from one of five distinct character
classes, players will acquire powerful items, spells, and abilities as they
explore new and familiar areas of Sanctuary and battle hordes of demons to
safeguard the world from the horrors that have arisen. The first two characters
classes -- the barbarian and the witch doctor -- were shown as part of the
announcement at the event today in Paris.

Diablo III will feature a custom 3D-graphics engine to render lush indoor and
outdoor areas of Sanctuary with a high level of detail and vivid special
effects. The game’s physics-enhanced environments will be interactive and
destructible, offering traps and obstacles that create added danger for players
and monsters alike. These elements, along with a new quest system and random
scripted events, will be integrated into the game’s random-level generator,
giving Diablo III the ultimate combination of dynamic gameplay and
replayability. Cooperative and competitive play will be available online through
an upgraded version of Blizzard Entertainment’s renowned online gaming service,
Battle.net®.

Blizzard Entertainment is developing Diablo III for simultaneous release on the
Windows® and Macintosh® PC platforms. Further information about the game,
including details on the other character classes, major new features for the
single-player and multiplayer components, system requirements, pricing, and
availability, will be announced as development progresses. To learn more about
Diablo III, please visit the official website at www.diablo3.com. With multiple
games in development, Blizzard Entertainment has numerous positions currently
available. Visit http://www.blizzard.com/jobs for more information and to learn
how to apply.

"gotta love how certain retards in this topic have condemed the game before its even released, or reviewed. "

"Why cant they wait to give there opinion once they've played it instead of bashing it just because they hate the big bad Blizzard. "

I don't need to play it to know there is a serious problem when it comes to my complaint.

I'm not saying it's going to be a shitty game, I'm just saying that in the areas I am concerned, the problem is there and apparent. They've probably already completed all of the artwork, and it looks cartoony.

And as for the violence, I doubt much will change. These days games simply aren't doing the things that people were working on back in the day. These days, violent video games tend to suck compared to previous games of high violence.

When a Mortal Kombat game screws up the coolness of Scorpion's spear (MK: Deception), there's a problem.

The original started with a gory impact puncture/deep bass sound effect, an awesome scream, and a great "Get over here!", as well as arterial spray and blood flying out.

What it became was no impact sound and two little bits of blood, each shooting out to one side. To their credit, however, a perfect re-creation of the "Get over here!" voice was done.

No one cares about detail any more. They just want to make money and make sure they're technically on the bandwagon of the genre they're doing.

"I'd rather Blizzard try to make Diablo 3 than make no attempt."

You are absolutely right, Dryden.This comment was edited on Jul 26, 03:49.

"I don't trust Diablo 3 entirely because the team that made Diablo Diablo is gone. "

False. Some of them left, some of them stayed.

"This is a sequel in name only."

A sequel is about how the game plays, not who programmed it."

The problem is that the game's lead designer is the guy who did WoW. And he apparently decided that it was a good idea to take all the WoW art style with him.

That was a grave mistake to anyone who cares about the essence of Diablo. The 3d models look cartoony, the environmental objects are "larger-than-life" (cartoony) objects with stupid strange cartoon curves, the blood is shit and is nothing but contact only blood appearance, crappy dismemberment where no blood comes out of the sever point and the severed limb doesnt twitch or bleed, no blood pools, no visible damage on the corpses....

The original's first monster had a death animation where he gets chopped in half with an over the top amount of blood spraying out of the lower body section, which then comes up and down on top of that part on the ground and stays there pooled up. Not to mention the extremely satisfying sound effects.

There is a petition to change the artistic direction of Diablo 3, and it currently has 34,132 signatures.

If any of you would like to see any screenshots showing some minor changes that could be made, or would like to sign the petition yourself, please go to http://www.petitiononline.com/d3art/

Thank you. With your help perhaps we can save Diablo 3 from being castrated by the Butcher.